Mount Sinai was enveloped in smoke, and the entire mountain quaked. I am thinking only the mountain quaked as the Bible says. Did the land quake too?

Then as the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Could this be in an audible voice? Did everyone hear God´s voice, or just Moses?

Imagine witnessing these events of thunder, smoke, trumpet sounds, and earthquakes. The Bible does not mention if this lasted minutes or hours, nevertheless, it must have been something to behold. When we read this, there is no room for doubt it was the finger of God that wrote the Ten Commandments. Who could deny it?

The entire populations witnessed this, and as Moses climbed the mountain, after some time, the people below began making an idol out of gold.

It seems they forgot the display of power rendered by God.

I have been practicing gratitude in my journal writing. While we may not have the thunder, smoke and trumpet sound today, writing out what I am thankful for does something inside of me.

It reminds me of everything God has accomplished in my life. I am reminded how He has answered my prayers, protected me, and shows up at the last minute. I know it´s God when at the eleventh hour, a financial need is met.

He does not answer by way of a long and loud trumpet sound, but I see it in the simple things. There is no smoke around the mountain where I live, but His protection is with me.

Gratitude keeps me aligned with God, tuned it, and so very thankful.

For some reason, saying why I am thankful to God makes me feel safe and loved by him.

last month I was invited to give a workshop on spiritual warfare at the ICAP Conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin. When asked to participate, I immediately said no out of fear and feeling unqualified. It was suggested that I should pray and seek the Lord for His answer, (not mine) which I did and received a yes.

After receiving a yes, I knew I had to prepare as I would be amongst experts in the field of rescue and recovery of those in the sex trade industry, and my topic would be something new for many.

While at the conference, I learned so many things.

Most women in this field are not there by choice. Many have suffered abuse at a very young age, are trafficked and suffer trauma, and PTSD.

I was pleasantly surprised to see people from all around the globe involved in this type of ministry. Some have a calling, others have been rescued and are now rescuing others.

Seeing and hearing these testimonies have brought me much encouragement. God is at work, and yes, there are many success stories.

Being amongst these survivors and hearing their stories has brought a new faith and hope in me. I feel as though I received a huge vitamin shot. God is everywhere; at work in the brothels, strip clubs, rescuing those in need. When I think of my own needs, they seem insignificant compared to what these women and men (yes, young boys are trafficked) go through, and because Christ sets them free, they are strong and enduring to the end.

It´s funny how God works. I went there to serve and to bless in what I can give, but I was the one that came out blessed and with a renewed hope and faith in God.

The theme for the conference was Isaiah 62:3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God.

After spending just a few days with these precious people, they truly are a crown of glory in His hand and the love was palpable. They choose to be molded and shaped by the master potter and continue to be used by Him for His glory.

Do you ever find yourself in a blah mood at times? I know I have, and it would take a while for me to get out of it. Then I came across what is known as the deadly D´s. These subtle attacks are ways in which the enemy distracts us. Perhaps you have heard of some, maybe not.

There is a warning to heed: If we believe or fall for any of these, it will cause us to waver in our authority in Christ and get us off track.

I have a confession to make. I fell prey to many of these symptoms until I began to identify them and only then I was able to put a stop to it.

Below are a few of the deadly D´s you may have heard about already.

Distraction
Divides your attention and prevents concentration. You begin to look at what others have, instead of what the Lord has placed inside you, you lose your focus. When you are distracted, it causes an interruption. You are pulled in different directions.

Solution- purpose in your heart to focus, and have a heart of gratitude towards the Lord.

Discord
Lack of harmony, disagreement, strife, fighting with family, friends, co-workers and even your pastor and church leaders.

Solution- Choose not to participate.

Discouragement
We become discouraged when we focus on what is not happening. It will cause us to be ungrateful and hopeless. It will keep us in misunderstanding and we lose communication. We do not come to the unity of the faith, and it keeps us divided.

Solution- Give thanks for what you do have.

Division
The enemy does not like it when the body of Christ comes into agreement. Where two or three are gathered together in His name, Jesus is there in the midst of it all.

Solution- Just think what will happen when believers come together to pray and do warfare, we win the battle!

Despair
Despair causes one to lose hope and give up and may lead to depression. Our God-given call can take a detour. Don´t fall for the enemy’s scheme to place upon you unrealistic expectations and disappointments. It is vital to ask for vision during prayer, to be encouraged and continue in your calling. Vision is a powerful tool. Ask for it, and see what God will do for you.

Solution- call on friends and those you trust to pray for you and ask for a clear direction while in prayer.

Demoralized
This destroys the persons’ morale, throws you into confusion and deprives you of your courage. When this happens, you stop everything, there is no purpose.

Solution-Lift your eyes to the Lord, ask for a clear and fresh perspective.

Doubt
You hesitate to believe and are uncertain. You doubt God has called you and has placed unique gifting’s inside of you. You can begin to question God´s ability to answer prayer in your life.

Solution- hand over your doubt to Jesus, and ask Him to replace it with faith.

Disappointment
Disappointments come from unmet expectations. These could be expectations of what we believe God should do for us or expectations we have of our spouse, church, children, Christian leaders or even of ourselves.

Hebrews 12:15 warns, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Solution – For that reason, we should immediately forgive, release and apply the grace of God to our lives.

Disbelief
The inability to believe or accept something as true, also doubt. We doubt what God has placed in us, or even in others and lose out on the blessing.

Solution-place your trust and confidence in the Lord, and not in man.

Deception
Deception is very easy to fall into. It is an act of making someone believe something that is not true. This could be about yourself, your calling and integrity of God. Deception is misleading.

Solution- go to others that you trust and ask for prayer, be honest and vulnerable!

Discontentment
Here is where we stop seeing the positive in our lives and become negative. You have a lack of satisfaction with your accomplishments, status and even the spiritual gifts placed inside of you. Everything around you is in darkness.

Solution-choose to be content with what you have.

Disillusionment
When we become disillusioned, we may want to drop out of a marriage or a ministry or a commitment the Lord has called us into. We can become cynical and lose sight of the vision, which is exactly what the enemy wants us to do. We can´t give him the satisfaction of seeing his wishes fulfilled in our lives.

Solution-perhaps you need a break or some time out, that is perfectly fine. I need to do this from time to time. When I do have a chance to get away, I come to the Lord in prayer and ask him to hit the refresh button!

All of these deadly “D´s” keep us under a spell to self-destruct, to thwart God´s plan and purpose for our lives. Don´t give him the pleasure of winning, instead, take control and continue steadfast in your calling.

It is no secret Satan has a hatred toward man, especially those that are in the kingdom of God. He hates us because we represent God, and it reminds him of the battle he lost on the cross. While Satan does not accept defeat, he is always out to attack us in any way he can. Below are some of the ways he works against us.

1- Satan deceives man 1 Timothy 4:1 -2 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

Along with deception, he lies to us about everything. He lies about how awesome and wonderful we are in the eyes of God. He uses other people to hurt us with condemning words to crush our hopes, dreams, visions, and what God is speaking to us. These words will place doubt and unbelief in our heart.

2- Satan blinds the minds of God’s people 2 Corinthians 4:4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

He blinds man through deception, and we begin believing lies in all areas of our life. He will also try to distort our Biblical World View

3- Satan is fierce and cruel 1 Peter 5:8-9Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.

I use to hear Christians say, ” Oh, Satan is a toothless lion.” I don´t think so. He has teeth, and when he bites, it hurts.

4- Intelligent and subtle: 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is Christ’s.

We need to understand Satan has been around a lot longer than we have. He has wisdom, but a wisdom that is pure evil. He is out to destroy the plan the Lord has given and guided us into.

He will always attack your giftings, always placing doubt.

5- He tempts us 1Th 3:5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.

He will tempt you in your weakness, and only you know what that is. Its goal is to get you off track and cause a separation between you and God, and then he will place guilt upon you for falling into temptation.

6- He accuses us Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Be sure he will remind you of your past sins. Dwelling on the past will make you ineffective for the future.

7- Steal, kill and destroy John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Sad to say, but Satan is doing a very good job of this. His goal is to steal, kill and destroy your hopes, dreams, plans vision, family, finances.

8-He puts fear in us, influences our emotions 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

The fear in us will paralyze from moving forward.

9-Isolates us Luke 8:27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.

Isolation is a big one, sad to say, many do not think so. It is important to be around those that you can go to for prayer, advice, and counsel. In being isolated, you are unaware of how much of a grasp the enemy has on you. God has called us to fellowship, and it´s also fellowship outside of the church.

He wants to keep us away from other believers, where we can grow, share and pray for others.

Now that you know and understand how he works against us, what is the solution?

Resist.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Once the attack has been identified, you will have the strength to resist, and he will run away from you. He will have no choice, and in resisting the enemy, you continue your spiritual growth.

I finally did something that has been a dream for me. After writing, editing and praying, I finally pressed publish, and my book, 8 things you need to know BEFORE engaging in Spiritual Warfare is now available for free for a limited time at Amazon.

This is a beginners guide for those called into spiritual warfare. Many times we don´t know where to start, and these simple but yet powerful truths will guide you on the right track.